Randolph Fire Department now carrying Narcan

On Monday, the department sent out a press release announcing that all of its firefighters had been trained in administering the drug, which is used to rescue individuals suffering from an opiate overdose, and that the department had begun carrying Narcan on all of its vehicles.

RANDOLPH – The Randolph Fire Department has become the latest local group first responders to carry the live-saving drug nalaxone.

On Monday, the department sent out a press release announcing that all of its firefighters had been trained in administering the drug, which is used to rescue individuals suffering from an opiate overdose, and that the department had begun carrying the Narcan brand on all of its vehicles.

The announcement comes after Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey held an event at his Canton office in March to provide first responders with the opportunity to be trained in administering Narcan.

About 80 police officers and firefighters from cities and towns across the county attended the event and 300 doses of Narcan were distributed to those departments with the intention that those in attendance would train other personnel in their department.

In April, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz hosted a similar “Train-the-Trainer” event for law enforcement at the Thorny Lea Golf Course in Brockton.

In March, Gov. Deval Patrick stated his goal to make Narcan available to all first responders throughout the commonwealth when he declared the state’s opiate overdose epidemic a public health emergency.

To combat the epidemic, police and fire departments throughout the region have begun carrying the drug.

In the last year, first responders in Abington, Brockton, Bridgewater, Randolph and Stoughton, among other cities and towns, have begun carrying Narcan.

“What I’m hoping we see is a dramatic decrease in fatal overdoses,” said Dr. Joseph Shrand, medical director of CASTLE (Clean and Sober Teens Living Empowered), part of the High Point Treatment Center in Brockton.

While some have raised the concern that the prevalence of Narcan might encourage drug addicts to use more recklessly, Shrand said he thinks the presence of Narcan will actually discourage people from abusing opiates.

“As more and more people become more familiar with Narcan, people are going to get the message that these drugs are very dangerous,” Shrand said. “I think it (the region) is absolutely safer than it was a year ago.”

However, Narcan alone is not enough to fight the overdose epidemic.

“The Narcan is in response to the end-user, folks who are already in the throws of addiction,” Shrand said. “The next step is to get on the front-end and not let people get into it.”

To that end, Shrand said efforts need to be made to educate people about the risks of opiate addiction at the middle school, high school and college levels.